enfranchisement

noun

1
as in emancipation
the act of setting free from slavery the Emancipation Proclamation was merely the first step in the full enfranchisement of African-Americans

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in suffrage
the right to formally express one's position or will in an election a time when enfranchisement was limited to white males who owned property

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of enfranchisement And in the young republic, enfranchisement quickly expanded further, with perhaps 80 percent of adult white men—90 percent in some states—coming to hold the right to vote. — Yoni Appelbaum, The Atlantic, 8 June 2026 Many claim that with the abolition of slavery and the enfranchisement of women, and many other new laws like civil rights legislation and changing gender norms, there has been great progress. — Literary Hub, 12 Dec. 2025 In theory, this transition inaugurates a chapter of enfranchisement, but in the next scene the Senegalese businessmen are in suits, and the white men return with briefcases full of money as bribes. — Lovia Gyarkye, IndieWire, 19 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enfranchisement
  1. emancipation
  2. suffrage
  3. liberation
Noun
  • The standout style was the La Pigalle pump, representing a symbol of confidence and emancipation.
    — Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 3 Oct. 2026
  • The March on Washington was about the unfinished business of emancipation and Reconstruction.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of emancipation
Noun
  • August 26th, 1970 Feminists march in New York City on August 26, 1970 on the 50th anniversary of the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment which granted American women full suffrage.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Targeted by white supremacists Election Day of 1871 was one of the most consequential in the history of Philadelphia, at the time an epicenter for the simmering tensions surrounding Black suffrage.
    — Timothy Welbeck, The Conversation, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of suffrage
Noun
  • The director Peter Sellars, who staged the piece’s first production last year, also worked with me on assembling the libretto, and Peter is a force of liberation.
    — Matthew Aucoin, The New York Review of Books, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Pica said a red lip felt like the most direct way to express that sense of liberation.
    — Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of liberation

Browse Nearby Words

enfranchised
enfranchisement
enfranchisements
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Enfranchisement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enfranchisement. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All